Toe jam: Cubs' Camp kept injury quiet

Struggling reliever Shawn Camp was placed on the disabled list Wednesday for a sprained toe the team says he kept quiet for much of the past month.

"He got treatment for on Sunday to kind of start the process and just [aggravated] it, and the inflammation got too bad or whatever," he said. "I think for a while it's just been getting tough to push of the mound. We've got to give it time to settle down."

By the time Camp alerted team officials to the problem Sunday, it was too late to prevent reliever Michael Bowden from being designated for assignment to make roster room for Matt Garza. Had the club know sooner, and known the severity, Sveum said, Camp would have been put on the DL then, with Bowden staying with the club.

"That would have been the obvious move," he said. "We didn't know it was that extensive."

Camp, who gave up a decisive grand slam in Tuesday's loss to Pittsburgh, didn't indicate how significant the issue was even after Sunday as he tried to pitch through it, said Sveum, who suggested it could have contributed to Camp's decreased velocity and effectiveness.

Camp, who has a 7.56 ERA and three blown saves, could be in for a lengthy DL stay. He's been ordered to stay off the foot as much as possible to let the pain subside before resuming baseball activity.

And Camp, who left the team to return home for that part of the recovery, might need a minor-league rehab assignment after that, Sveum said.